MY WEEK OF STAYING AT home was over and now it was Monday morning, time to get back into the swing of things and actually go into the office. I called Lexi yesterday and told her about what had happened so she wouldn’t freak out when she saw me at work with my hand all bandaged up. I was trying to avoid having the whole office know what I did.
My whole body was sore from Saturday night’s festivities in the bedroom and from the fight. My hand was bruised and swollen, but I knew that was to be expected since I punched someone in the face; although, I didn’t know it would hurt as bad as it did. At least I could still type and work on the computer. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was doable. However, the open document sitting in front of me begged to differ because I’d only accumulated about a hundred words since sitting down at my desk two hours ago.
The article will get done in time. I hadn’t missed a deadline yet, and I wasn’t going to start now.
Since I stayed with Matt over the weekend, he had volunteered to stay at my house during the coming week since Jace was still gone and I needed to get back to work. He had an hour drive to and from his place to mine when he went to the gym, but he insisted on doing it so he could be with me. Writing the article on him was going to be difficult because he was more than just an athlete, public figure, and talented man; he was a good friend to others, loyal, and a lover. My ten page spread might end up being a twenty page spread by the time I was done.
I wanted the world to know who he was and the sacrifices he made to get where he was. Out of all the athletes I’d interviewed, none had a life story like his. I didn’t just think that because I grew up with him; it was the truth.
“Knock, knock,” Lexi chimed, banging lightly on the door.
Lifting my gaze, I smiled at her as she walked in and took a seat in front of my desk. She wore a pair of gray slacks and a pink, lacy top with her camera around her neck, like always. Today, I settled on a knee-length black skirt, black sandals, and a royal blue sleeveless top with my hair in a messy ponytail. My hand wasn’t up to the task of spending the time to flat iron it.
Lexi sighed and pursed her lips at my bandaged hand before reclining in the chair. “I’m glad to see you back at work in one piece. It sucks that I never get to see you unless you’re here. Are we still on for a girl’s night this week? Hayley was thinking Wednesday night would be good.”
“That’ll be great. What did you both have in mind? Dinner and a movie?”
“You know it,” she remarked excitedly. “I’m thinking pizza and a chick flick. Will and I never eat pizza, and I hardly every get to watch the movies I like.”
Will was a health fanatic, kind of like Jace when it came to food. Jace didn’t like having junk food in the house except for my chocolate strawberries, but that was rare. Usually, when Lexi went out to lunch with me she would order the unhealthiest plate on the menu just because it was the only time she could really let go and do what she wanted. It was good to watch what you ate, but there was also such a thing as taking it to the extreme. I was a health nut, too, but I had to let myself enjoy some kind of treats or I’d go insane.
Another knock came at the door and it was Stacey who entered, holding a cup of coffee and a notebook with her glasses perched on top of her auburn hair and a pencil sticking out from on top of her ear. She was our receptionist and had been working for the magazine for twenty years. She was also one of the quirkiest women I knew and always dressed the part by wearing extremely bright colors; hence the reason she was dressed in a pair of tight green pants and a bright yellow tunic-style top.
“Good morning, Ms. Monroe,” she greeted brightly.
“Hey, Stacey, how are you?” I asked.
“Oh, I’m fine. I just wanted to tell you that someone’s here to see you. I told him to wait out in the lobby until you were ready for him.”
“Did he give you a name?”
“Yes,” she replied with a smile. She looked down at her notebook and said, “Let’s see … he said his name was Caleb Rhinehardt.”
Lexi practically growled, jumping out of her chair. “No, Stacey, she can’t see Mr. Caleb Rhinehardt. That’s not even his real name.” She turned to me and glared. “We really need to call security on him. He shouldn’t be here.”
Stacey’s blue eyes went wide. “Oh my goodness, do I really need to call security?”
I said ‘no’ at the same time Lexi screamed ‘yes.’
“No,” I told her more firmly, shooting a glare at Lexi. “Send him back here, Stacey. I need to end this anyway.”
Stacey nodded unsurely and left the room, leaving Lexi there to gape at me in horror. “Shelby, no,” she hissed. “You need to stay away from him. He’s only going to cause more trouble.”
About that time, Kyle sauntered into my office dressed in a pair of faded denim jeans and a red T-shirt, and shut the door. He glanced back and forth between me and Lexi with a smug expression on his face. Instead of having dark blond hair like he did before, it was now bleached-out and white like Matt had first described him to me. His eyes were still the same, one dark and one light, but the addition to the skin underneath his dull green eye was a welcome sight. My hand might hurt like hell, but at least I knew his face had to hurt, too.
“Good morning, Lexi,” he said to her, and then turned to me, “and to you, love.”
“Ugh … what do you want, Kyle?” I asked in disgust, “Another bruise to go under the left eye? You have a lot of nerve coming here.”
He shrugged and took a seat in one of the chairs across from me, gazing around my office while Lexi moved as far away from him as she could. “Well, I see you still have a job after being arrested for assault. I figured a place like this would look down on people like that. So, anyway, I was wondering how your night in jail went.”
Sitting back in my chair, it was now my time to look smug. “Oh, it was wonderful considering I didn’t spend a night in jail,” I informed him happily. His smile faded. “Yeah, you see, the moment I got to the station I was free to go. It appears my name is just a little more credible than yours. It’s over, Kyle. Whatever game you’re playing is done.”
Kyle rested his arms on my desk and leaned forward, staring at me with his two-toned eyes. “No, love, it’s not done yet. There’s still one part of the game we haven’t played.”
Like hell.
Slowly standing from my desk, my whole body trembled in rage as I towered over him. I was done with his games and so was Matt. He couldn’t hurt us anymore.
“Before I call security to get your ass hauled out of here, I want you to know something. I don’t give a flying fuck what you or anyone else who’s working with you has planned. You’re a sociopathic prick who gets off on tormenting others for your own personal gain. It’s sad, and it’s pathetic.”
Storming over to the door, I opened it wide and snapped, “Now get out. I have nothing more to say to you, and if you show up here again or at my house I will file a restraining order against you. You may have a good lawyer, but I have one that’s even better. You’ll never step foot in the ring again if you mess with me.”
Getting to his feet, Kyle slowly stalked toward the door and stopped in front of me. Keeping his voice quiet, he leaned in and whispered, “You are so sexy when you’re pissed. I’m rock hard right now just looking at you. I hope you liked the pictures of me tasting that sweet body of yours. I know I do.”
“You disgust me,” I growled.
Out of the corner of my eye, Lexi moved over to my desk and picked up the phone. “Yes, this is Lexi Martin. I need security up in Paige Monroe’s office immediately. We have a pest problem and he doesn’t want to leave.”
Kyle chuckled and shook his head. “I guess our time is up, love. Have a good rest of the week.”
As soon as he walked out, I slammed the door and released a shaky breath. He didn’t react the way I thought he would and that scared me. I figured he would get angry and lash out, maybe even show a little bit of fear, but that wasn’t what I got. I believed I could scare him, but not a flicker of concern had shown in his eyes.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Lexi warned.
Leaning my head against the door, I closed my eyes and murmured, “Neither do I, Lex, but what can we do?”
“I don’t know what you and I can do, but I do know what Will can do. I haven’t told him about Kyle, but once I do he’ll be ready to go. We’re going to need his help.”
Will was a lawyer, and a good one at that. I couldn’t take any more chances.
“Call him,” I told her. “Let’s see what he can do.”